Running tubeless tyres is something that every mountain biker should be doing. The benefits of lower pressures and fewer (if not zero) flats are well-founded. Tubes are relegated to emergency measures when something goes wrong and you are stuck miles from safety. But sometimes things do go wrong, and usually that means a rip or hole that is just too big for the sealant to patch up as you go. Car tyre repairers have long used a plug system to repair punctures, and now the same technology is available for mountain bikers with the Dynaplug system.

Recently I’ve been running 27.5 Plus tyres on my bike, and at $180 a pop you don’t want to be throwing out a tyre that is perfect except for a pesky little hole… this Maxxis Rekon suffered a rock strike right near the bead, rendering the ride finished (fortunately this time it was near the end of the last trail so didn’t result in too much swearing and walking). I’d seen the Dynaplug system around so contacted Everoutdoor and got a kit on the way pronto.

The kit consists of a plastic tool that houses five spare plugs and is used to insert them into the tyre. Repairs can––and should––be done without removing the tyre from the rim, but for demo purposes we popped the bead off to get a better look.

The cap of the tool houses the metal tube that the plug is inserted into. Pop in the plug and…

Push the plug into the hole, and then pull it back out… the metal spike on the end will seat and fuse itself against the wall of the tyre and seal the hole.

After we’d aired up the tyre, another hole was discovered nearby, indicating a pinch flat (must’ve hit something fairly hard to cause this on a tubeless tyre!).

This time we were able to leave the tyre on as you would on the trail, and voila!

Two holes sealed, an expensive tyre saved, bank account relieved, and a happy rider hitting the trails again. The protruding plug ends can be trimmed, but it’s recommended to leave a little bit hanging out so it can’t migrate inwards. The longer plug was making an annoying tick tick tick on the chainstay and was accordingly trimmed.

The very next ride saw another hole in a similar area, right near the bead again. Being of the “she’ll be right, it’s a short ride” school, I’d neglected to pack the Dynaplug and a tube was deployed to get me out of the bush. Amateur. Tip: if you’re running Plus size tyres, pack a Plus size tube and a CO2 and a pump that pumps, not sucks. Back in the workshop, a five-minute job that could’ve saved an hour of faffing about on the trail had the Rekon aired up and back in action. The Dynaplug went straight into the pack where it will stay. The tyre has now survived another few rides with no leakage and the tyre will hopefully wear out before it’s thrown out.

The Dynaplug system costs about $60 and it’s money well spent for tubeless riders (that’s all of you, right?). It’s cheap insurance and should be a staple of tyre repair as much as a tube and pump. Just don’t forget to put it in your pack.